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Big Development and a Poll

Sargent at TPM: beginning of the end, big development, significant step forward.* “Nearly 90″ have now signed a letter saying they won’t fund any more war. 

Riehl does the math, so we don’t have to:

Let’s see, number of Representatives in the House - 435

Actual number signing the surrender letter - 87 - only 17 added since the same stunt in July

Number that haven’t signed - 348, or about 80% of the House.

Or, as one of the signers helpfully notes, an entire one-third of the Democratic caucus.

* Sargent at TPM doesn’t actually say all of these things.  He quotes Politico as saying “big development” and “beginning of the end” back in July, but isn’t willing to go beyond “significent step forward” himself.  I thought this a rather weenie approach by Sargent, seeing how breathless he is over his exclusive …

I’ve just learned that nearly 90 members of the House of Representatives have now added their names to a letter to the President pledging not to vote for any more funding for the war and only to vote for supplementals that fully fund withdrawal and nothing else.

Back in July, 70 House members signed a similar letter vowing to only fund withdrawal. At the time, The Politico deemed this a “big development,” adding: “This may be the beginning of the end for the Iraq War.”

Now more than 15 new members have added their names to the letter, bringing the total to 87, another significant step forward.

… and so have decided to take the liberty of saying for him what even he probably recognizes is absurd or perhaps is too embarrassed to say: This is really the light at the end of the tunnel. Between this and the midterm election, Bush is really on the ropes now.  That Libby thing may not have neutered Cheney, but this sure will.

Didn’t the Dem leadership just say they aren’t going to waste any more time on pointless, go-nowhere surrender legislation? Something like that.  Here’s another good one.

The extreme anti-war camp … the ones who hoped something really horrible and murderous would happen over the summer so they could stop the killing … managed to get poll results that say Americans don’t want to spend any more on the war.  Specifically, do you want to spend $200 billion to keep troops in Iraq or spend $200 billion to bring troops home or not spend $200 billion at all.  It’s easy to see how well-meaning Americans might say,”Iif the choice is to spend it and leave them there, or spend it and bring them home, all things being equal, let’s bring them home.”  I’m a little surprised, all things being equal, more people didn’t say, “What the heck, let’s just not spend any money at all!”   

All things not in fact being equal, I wonder what the result would be if they asked Americans if they wanted to approve $200 billion in supplemental spending to kill al-Qaeda, thwart Iran’s efforts to dominate the region, prevent a mass genocide of Iraqis, and stabilize the oil-rich Middle East. Or conversely, if they would prefer to spend $200 billion to strengthen al-Qaeda, hand the region to Iran, and abandon Iraq to genocide.  Or, if they would prefer not to spend any money at all, and desert 160,000 troops in the middle of that, letting them duke it out as long as the ammo and MREs last or try to make their own way home, as they choose.

I tried to click into “read full results” but it wouldn’t let me, so I don’t know if they tried asking the questions that way.

Topics: Iraq, pols

  Posted by Jules Crittenden at 11:19 pm on Wednesday, October 10, 2007

2 Responses to “Big Development and a Poll”

1. saltydog Says:
   October 11th, 2007 at 2:11 am

   I’ve never been a fan of polls, but I am truly beginning to hate them. On so many levels, they represent one of the most dishonest attempts at political manipulation around.

2. The Thunder Run Says:
   October 11th, 2007 at 11:26 am

   Web Reconnaissance for 10/11/2007

   A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day…so check back often.

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